Slayers SEED
by Handsome Puppy
Summary: As the only surviving Gold Dragon, Filia ul Copt, high priestess of the Ryuuzoku, is on a journey to retrieve the Clair Bibles. What awaits her is a great evil that can only be exterminated by combining her Light with the Darkness of Xelloss...
1. Slayers SEED: Prologue

  


**[Slayers SEED: Prologue]**

  


by Handsome Puppy

Author's Note:   
This is my actual very first Slayers fanfic! :)  
The idea came to me when I read the few sentences about the power of Light and Darkness joining to defeat Darkstar, and I started out with knowing close to nothing about the world of Slayers. Please forget everything about TRY when you read SEED, as the story of SEED happens in the place of TRY. Even though I know more about Slayers in general now from various websites and fanfics, I intend to finish this story with the initial settings. I hope you'll find it interesting enough :)  
All comments are welcome and loved! Also a special thank you to Miss Fi for being my beta reader!:) Enjoy!

Disclaimer:   
Slayers belongs to Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa Shoten/TV TOKYO/SOFTX/Marubeni. The title of Gundam SEED belongs to Sunrise/Bandai. This story and all the original characters are mine, by the way.

* * *

"Skymaster-sama." A Mazoku kneeled before a skull-adorned throne and spoke respectfully. "I've found the last Light."

"So there IS still one Light, as I have suspected. " The man wrapped in a black cloak smiled menacingly. "Well done, Meiron."

"It is my honour to serve the great Skymaster-sama." Meiron bowed low.

"So where is the last Light? Hiding in a temple and cowering in a corner with his tail tucked between his legs?" The Skymaster cackled scornfully.

"It's a female, Skymaster-sama." Meiron informed. "Apparently, she hadn't hatched when the Kouma War took place and therefore was missed by the Mazoku armies. Her egg was later found and she was raised in a Ryuuzoku temple. Right now, she's on the road in search for the Clair Bibles."

"Clair Bibles, huh? Too late." Skymaster Caiza laughed wickedly and waved a hand dismissively. "Take care of her, Meiron. We can't be too careless and have our plan ruined by a little dragon, can we?"

"Hai. There is a slight problem, though, regarding whom she is travelling with." Meiron continued. "Beside the famed sorceress Lina Inverse and the swordsman of light Gourry Gabriev, there's also a Darkness in the party, and a high-ranking one at that."

"Oh?" Skymaster Caiza cocked an eyebrow curiously. "I thought Gold Dragons and Mazoku are mortal enemies."

"They are, but it seemed that Lina Inverse has managed to prevent them from killing each other off."

"Ah, that's too bad. I am, however, interested in the composition of this particular party. Why both a Light and a Dark in it; and what are their skills? Also, who sent the Darkness and why, and if the Darkness might be part of the balance... " Caiza grinned. "Perhaps we won't get rid of the Light now. Find it out for me, Meiron, and we'll see what should be done next."

"Yes. Skymaster-sama." Meiron bowed and disappeared.

~to be continued


	2. Slayers SEED: Phase 01

  


**[Slayers SEED: Phase 01]**

  


by Handsome Puppy

Author's Note:   
In case you haven't noticed, this story doesn't follow the Slayers canon. Filia is the only Gold Dragon still living on the whole planet, and Valgarv doesn't exist. The hierarchy of power is also different from what you are normally familiar with. Everything will be cleared soon (I hope) so please bare with me. Don't forget, this is an ongoing story, and all comments and inputs are welcome and loved! Also a special thank you to Miss Fi for being my beta reader!:) Enjoy!

Disclaimer:   
Slayers belongs to Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa Shoten/TV TOKYO/SOFTX/Marubeni. The title of Gundam SEED belongs to Sunrise/Bandai. This story and all the original characters are mine, by the way.

* * *

The customers of a local restaurant stared with absolute amazement at a table near the centre. The people seated at the table appeared to be ordinary humans, one being a short girl with raging orange hair, the other being a tall blond man. What really caught people's attention was the amount of food being brought to the table, as well as the height of the plates that had piled up.

"Umh, these are really good! Aren't you guys going to try some, too?" Lina managed to say through her mouthful of food, her head turned slightly to look at her companions at the table next to hers.

"We've had enough." Zelgadiss replied as politely as he could under the circumstance. "How long are you going to keep on stuffing food into your bottomless stomach, Lina?"

"Just a couple more dishes and we'll be done!" Lina grinned as she grabbed a hold of a waitress and ordered, again.

"How can you fit all this food in your stomach?" The young woman with long, golden hair sighed.

"Yeah, and still be so little and underdeveloped." The person sitting opposite from her followed up with a grin on his face, his eyes only visible as narrow slits.

"What was that you said?" Lina jerked toward his direction and warned in a low and dangerous tone.

"Be so little and under..." The smiling face was met with a ball of fury fire.

"Consider yourself lucky because I'm VERY occupied at the moment." Lina glared hard before returning to devouring her food.

"Huh, serves you right." The blond girl snorted.

"Aw, you're mean, Filia-chan." The priest's characteristic smile remained on his face.

Veins popped up on her forehead as she shot him a death glare and bared her fangs. "Don't you dare ever calling me that, you filthy Mazoku!!"

"Ah, but I was merely showing my affection, Filia-chan. It's a practice common among humans when they talk to their friends, you see."

A tail sporting a pink ribbon appeared from under her dress as Filia whipped out a mace and held it up, ready to strike. "We are NOT friends, and we will NEVER be friends!!!"

"Tsk, tsk. Always the hot-tempered one, aren't we?" Xelloss continued to smile. "Of all the people in this little group, YOU are the one who feeds me the most. Not to mention, that you are the tastiest."

Anger boiled up in Filia and she stood up abruptly. She stalked around the table and fisted the grinning priest by the collar. "You are enjoying every moment of this, aren't you, Namagomi? Always getting me worked up just so you can feed!"

"Of course. You're an easy target."

"That's it! You're really going to get it this time!" Filia growled in his cheery face.

"You'll just end up harming other unrelated people here. Why don't we take this outside?" Xelloss vanished with a grin, leaving Filia's hand grasping thin air.

"Why that Namagomi Mazoku-!!" Filia spun around and stormed out the restaurant.

"That's odd. Xelloss never agreed to fight Filia openly..." Zelgadiss frowned slightly, wondering whether he should follow them to see what that Trickster Priest was up to this time.

In fact, he would follow them, if he wasn't knocked out by the tall pile of plates crashing onto him when he accidentally bumped a chair into the table. The sounds of breaking glasses echoed loudly, and even Lina and Gourry had to pause to check if the chimera was still breathing.

+ + + + + + + + + 

Filia dashed from the restaurant and found the street empty. Her target was not in sight either. Frustrated, she searched left and right, trying to find some hints that would reveal Xelloss' whereabouts. A whistle caught her attention. When she turned to look, she found him waving at her near the entrance of the town. Angry with the little prank, Filia teleported to where the Trickster Priest stood.

"Not so fast." Xelloss held up a finger as the Gold Dragon readied her mace. "Let's go a little farther out."

Frowning slightly, Filia agreed and reluctantly followed him out the town to a little grass mound. As soon as she stopped on the top of the small hillock, however, her sharp senses picked up an unusual aura. An evil and menacing aura, and it was not from the smiling priest.

Filia narrowed her eyes and followed Xelloss' gaze toward the west sky. A figure suddenly appeared, looking directly at them.

"So it is you, Meiron." Xelloss started. "You've been following us the whole day. What do you want?"

"Ah, if it isn't the All Mighty Xelloss-sama!" Meiron mocked as he touched down on the ground. "I can't say it's expected, but it is not an altogether unpleasant discovery."

Filia tensed at the presence of another Mazoku. The two seemed to know each other, though not on very good terms as far as she could tell.

"And look, what's this? A Gold Dragon!" Meiron said in a mockingly dramatic tone. "I thought you wiped out the Gold Dragon race a millennium ago, Xelloss. Did you fall for the little beauty here, or did you simply lose your edge? Either way, shame on you, Xelloss!"

Filia felt a surge of anger and hatred welling up in her. She knew that Xelloss had single-handedly killed off many of her race in the Kouma War, but she didn't need to be reminded. Besides, anything a Mazoku said about her, even if it was a 'little beauty' in this case, was utter insult to her ears, but she was not about to let him taste her hatred. It was bad enough that she had an annoying Mazoku around her as it was! It was widely known that Mazoku fed on other's negative emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, etc. Xelloss had confirmed that on countless occasions. If she had learned anything from interacting with the Trickster Priest, it was how to control her temper around OTHER Mazoku.

Xelloss sensed her emotions threatening to break through the floodgate, but as quickly as these feelings of anger rose, they disappeared almost as fast. He could tell that she was making an effort not to fall prey to Meiron. Clever girl. Xelloss smirked to himself.

Without turning to look at the woman behind him, Xelloss shrugged casually. "I killed the ones taking part in the war. Those that weren't there were never my concern. Besides, she wasn't even hatched then." 

Meiron was taken off guard. Not by Xelloss' reply, but by the amount of control the dragon had over her anger. He had originally planned to get a taste of the Gold Dragon and see what she was made of, but it failed rather miserably. Whatever. It wasn't part of his order anyway.

"Which tribe of the Gold Dragon race are you from, girl?" Meiron smiled, nearly identical to Xelloss' face whenever he pulled one of his tricks.

"I'm not telling, you filthy, evil, lowly Mazoku!" Filia retorted.

"Ho, is that how you see us? Then why are you with Xelloss?" Meiron readied his bait.

"I didn't choose to!! If it wasn't for..." Filia found a gloved hand muffling her mouth, preventing her from completing her retort. She shot an angry look at Xelloss, who ignored it plainly.

"That, Meiron, is a secret." Xelloss smirked, a finger of his free hand wriggling with one eye opened.

"You're no fun, Xelloss." Meiron snorted. "Judging from your aura, I say you're a low-ranking priestess apprentice, right?"

"Wrong!" Filia pulled the hand away from her face and yelled. "How dare you utter such rubbish! I am the highest ranking priestess of Ryuuzoku!!"

"Hmph, so that's what you are." Meiron smirked. "That makes it a lot more interesting now."

"What are you talking about?" Filia glared at him.

"Caiza-sama ordered you to check us out, didn't he?" Xelloss opened both eyes slightly, which gave him a menacing look. "Why not Lina Inverse, or someone else?"

"I'm just following my orders, Xelloss, like you are." Meiron replied lazily, but his aura suddenly flared as he fired on Filia.

Filia had kept her guard up since the moment Meiron appeared, and her alertness paid off. She vanished from the spot before the blast could hit her then re-appeared some distance away.

"Not bad. It's not very common for Ryuuzoku to master the teleport skill." Meiron's smirk faded away as his figure vanished. "We'll meet again..."

"Un??" Filia's eyebrows creased a little as she sensed that the Mazoku had indeed left. "What was that all about...?"

Xelloss frowned slightly with his eyes closed. Whatever Caiza was planning, he didn't think he liked it. Maybe it was time he discussed the matter with his mistress...

"Do you know who that was?" Filia's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"That was a Mazoku. Can't you tell, Filia-san?" Xelloss donned his smiling mask.

Filia surpressed her rising ire with some effort. "I know that was a Mazoku. I'm asking you about his identity!"

"Oh, that is a secret." Xelloss wriggled his finger at her.

"Namagomi!" Filia called angrily.

"Don't tell Lina-san and the others about this yet. I'll be back." Xelloss got serious for one second before returning to his usual grin and vanishing in front of her eyes.

Filia wanted to yell at him, but that would just be a waste of time and energy. Stomping the ground twice, she started back to town.

+ + + + + + + + + 

"Geez, I told you not to worry about them, Zel. See? Isn't that Filia at the entrance there?" Lina patted the back of the chimera, only to freeze her action in mid-air. "Ah? Only one?"

"Where is Xelloss?" Gourry inquired once Filia joined them.

"He disappeared. Said that he'll be back." Filia said half-heartedly.

"Nothing else happened?" Zelgadiss asked coolly.

"Other than me really wanting to kill him? No." Filia lied. She wasn't lying because Xelloss told her to but because, Xelloss had confirmed that Meiron was checking them out specifically, meaning that they alone were the targets. There was no need to involve Lina-san and the others if it didn't concern them.

"Should we wait until Xelloss return?" Gourry asked.

"Nah, that guy can find us easy enough." Lina shook her head. "Let's go."

+ + + + + + + + + 

A beautiful female leaned leisurely on the large fur-covered armchair, though her eyes were anything but lazy.

"So Caiza is back in action, huh?" She studied her most trusted servant. "That might create some problems."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he is looking for the same thing as we are."

"Hmph! It seems that he still hasn't given up trying to destroy the world." The Beastmaster snorted. "Being a Lord simply isn't enough for him. He just has to screw with MY plans, doesn't he?"

"From what I've gathered so far, this particular manuscript that Lina-tachi has set their eyes on is THE one. With the little group beside me, not even Meiron would stand a chance of getting it before me."

"Well, you can take Caiza's minions by yourself anytime, anyway." Beastmaster crossed her legs. "There is, however, something fishy going on here. You said that Meiron specifically checked you and the Gold Dragon out?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... I'll have to look into that." Beastmaster mused. "Stick around until I find out more, Xelloss."

"Yes, Beastmaster-sama." Xelloss bowed and vanished.

~to be continued


	3. Slayers SEED: Phase 02

**Slayers SEED: Phase 02**

  


by Handsome Puppy

Disclaimer:Slayers belongs to Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa Shoten/TV TOKYO/SOFTX/Marubeni. The title of Gundam SEED belongs to Sunrise/Bandai. This story and all the original characters are mine. This story is AU.

* * *

The group huddled at a fork in the road, pouring over a map trying to decide which way to go. 

"I think we should go right." Filia said. "There is an ancient shrine in the forest. The Clair Bible might be there."

"I think left is the correct way to go." Zelgadiss said. "There is a maze containing very valuable items in the desert. The Clair Bible might be there."

"What do you think, Lina?" Gourry scratched his head.

"I don't know... Both places sound probable." Lina frowned, a hand rubbing her delicate chin.

"Since you seem unable to decide, let us do it for you!" A bellowing roar sounded from behind the group.

Lina and the others turned to see a werewolf in armour standing in the middle of the road, many more beast men surrounded them, bristling with armour and weapons.

"Ha! That's some nerve you have there, thinking of going against us!" Lina extended her hands in response, while her companions took the cue and readied their weapons. "We'll see if you have it in you!"

Lina's party fought at 4-30 odds, but it was rather obvious that victory would not fall on the beast men. When everyone had sheathed their swords and mace, Lina took out a coin and threw it high into the air.

"Heads is right and tails is left!" Lina called out before she caught the coin on the back of her hand. She removed the concealing hand to reveal the coin. "It's heads. We're going right."

Zelgadiss grumbled a little as the group took the right path. Gourry patted his back cheerfully. "If we don't find what we're looking for in the forest shrine, we'll go to the maze you talked about later!"

Being the last one in line, Filia casually followed the others. Before she walked a few steps, however, she froze. Quickly jerking her head to the side, she thought she caught sight of something, or someone, disappearing. Filia gazed intently at the spot where there was nothing but a tree, her mind screaming angrily. She only sensed it for a split second, but she was positive about its identity. Her background had honed her senses toward Mazoku. With Xelloss absent, she could easily pick up other Mazoku's aura.

"Huh? What's the matter, Filia?" Lina noticed the dragon maiden still hesitating and inquired.

"...Nothing." Filia managed a small smile and joined the group, her mind uneasy and restless.

+ - + - + - + - + - + 

Skymaster Caiza was admiring his demon blade when an aura materialized in front of him. He put down his blade and stood up to greet the visitor.

"Ah, if it isn't Zellas Metallium, the Beastmaster. To what do I owe the honour of your visit?" Caiza grinned wickedly.

The Beastmaster stared at him hard, her tone harsh. "What did you do, Caiza? Your aura is completely different from before."

"Oh, nothing much." Caiza smiled slyly. "While your underling was with that Lina Inverse's group, I had mine searching the other direction. Let's just say they found quite an item."

"A Clair Bible?" The Beastmaster guessed, her eyes narrowed as she spoke.

"Ah, nothing escapes you, Zellas. Yes, they found a Clair Bible, an especially valuable one."

"Hmph! So that's how you've increased your power to rival mine."

"That's right." Caiza looked at her. "We're both Lords under the One, yet you've always been the most powerful among us. But things are different now. I've become as powerful as you are, and you no longer have the power to restrict my actions."

"You're really going to push your ambition of destroying the world, aren't you?" The Beastmaster stared at him. "That's why you're looking for THIS one."

"Well, it's not mendatory that I obtain this particular manuscript, but it'll make everything much faster and easier. After all, we Lords are invincible. Those humans, not even the greatest sorceresses Luna and Lina Inverse, have the slightest hope in defeating me."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. Don't forget that Hellmaster Fibrizo, a Lord of equal ranking to us, was destroyed by the hand of Lina Inverse." The Beastmaster warned. "She may be using the One's power to do it, but the One did lend her the power. Fibrizo was killed because he betrayed the One. You are doing the same thing, Caiza, by trying to destroy the world against the One's will."

"Bah! Who cares about her?" Caiza laughed. "Yes. The One did lend the sorceress her power to destroy Fibrizo, but the sorceress sealed the spell after that. The One cannot appear in the material plane without the proper instrument."

"You dare to openly betray the One?" The Beastmaster looked at him dangerously.

"Come on now, Zellas. She may be the Golden Demon Lord of All, but the One practically doesn't exist! Her mind is in the Sea of Chaos, but she has no real body. Without a body, even the One cannot do anything, however powerful she is." Caiza snorted. "THIS one will grant me direct access to the Sea of Chaos. It'll be too easy to erase the bodiless mind of the One!"

"You're beyond reason now, Caiza. Better watch it. You never know what'll happen." The Beastmaster glared at him one last time and disappeared.

"Oh, don't worry. I have everything planned out." Caiza laughed after his fellow Lord left.

"Xelloss!" The Beastmaster called out as soon as she teleported into her palace.

"Yes, Beastmaster-sama?" Xelloss appeared before her throne.

"Prevent Caiza from obtaining this Clair Bible by all means. Consider him a rebel, and show no mercy to his minions! I don't care what you do!" Zellas barked.

"Understood." Xelloss bowed in acknowledgement and remained there, for he knew there was more.

"There is only one Gold Dragon still alive, correct?" Zellas calmed down a little.

"That's correct."

"And the Ancient Dragons are all extinct?"

"Affirmative."

"How many high priestesses are there in Ryuuzoku now?"

"Three more beside the Gold Dragon. Two Silvers and one Red."

"I see. So that's why he's been checking you out." The Beastmaster narrowed her eyes.

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand, Beastmaster-sama." Xelloss said.

"Are you aware of the way to cancel unbalance, Xelloss?"

"By combining Light and Darkness to create balance..." Xelloss paused, slightly frowning. "Unless Caiza-sama has grown considerably more powerful, there are other ways to defeat him. Is he...?"

"Apparently, he managed to get his filthy hands on a Clair Bible. Now he is as powerful as I am."

"So he can only be defeated by cancelling his unbalance." Xelloss concluded.

"That's exactly it. Go back to the group. You must prevent the Light from being extinquished."

"Aye." With that, he disappeared.

+ - + - + - + - + - + 

"Flare Arrow!" A blast of energy shot out from Lina's hand, hitting the intended target dead-on.

It wasn't working, however, as the figure re-emerged after the cloud of smoke dissipated. As a matter of fact, not even a burn or scratch had been induced on him since the battle started. The group had entered the forest for some time when they were ambushed. There were only five attackers, but all five were Mazoku, which made the battle much more difficult than fighting against a troop of humans or beast men.

"Arrrrr! These guys are really getting on my bad side!" Lina growled as she dodged an attack.

"They are teleporting too fast! It's impossible for Lina-san to cast Dragu Slave at this rate!" Filia cried while blocking the swords of two Mazoku with a mace in one hand and a sword in another.

"Physical attacks won't do much damage. We can only rely on Gourry's Sword of Light." Zelgadiss said, parrying with one.

"They are quite good, though, I'm afraid!" Gourry said in the middle of a fierce duel.

"Hurry up and finish your opponent, Gourry!" Lina yelled, releasing another blast. "Filia won't be able to handle two at a time for long!"

Filia cried out as her sword was knocked from her hand, and blood seeped through her white robe from a long gash on her left arm.

"Filia!" The other three shouted at the same time, recognizing the immediate danger. Their opponents didn't ease; their attacks only intensified.

"This is the last blow!" One of the Mazoku laughed, bringing his blade down while his comrade held Filia's mace at bay.

Filia felt her heart sank as she saw the inevitable. She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the end. But it never came. Instead, a scream shattered the air, uttered by the attacking Mazoku. Risking a look, Filia gasped when she saw the back of a familiar black robe. A grin shone on his face as he casually killed the two offending Mazoku.

"Xelloss!"

This sudden and unexpected event had caught the attacking Mazoku totally off guard. Gourry didn't hesitate to take advantage of this and quickly dispatched his opponent. The remaining two Mazoku were finished off by Gourry's Sword of Light as well.

Filia was so shocked by the turn of events that she didn't recover until Xelloss kneeled beside her and took her left arm to cast a healing spell. She pulled her arm back with a start and could only stammer, "Th... Thank you."

"Filia! Are you alright?" Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadiss ran up to her worriedly.

"That was pretty close, wasn't it?" Xelloss smiled, standing up.

"The closest for the past two days." Zelgadiss narrowed his eyes and glared at the Trickster Preist. "Surely you know something about the reason why?" The chimera was NEVER one to trust the Mazoku priest.

All eyes set on Xelloss as he grinned and held up a finger. "That..."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. Is a secret?"

"...is not a secret!"

"Eh!" Everyone stared at him in surprise. "So you're actually going to tell us this time?" Lina managed from her shock.

"Hai." Xelloss smiled and nodded. "You already know that other than the Great Lord Ruby Eye Shabranigu-sama, there are five Lords under the Lord of Nightmares. One, Hellmaster Fibrizo-sama, was destroyed by Lina-san, one is sealed, one is in hiding, and one is my mistress."

"That's only four." Zelgadiss noted.

"The last one is the Skymaster Caiza-sama." Xelloss paused to look at the girl beside him, who stifled a surprised gasp. "Yes, the one who sent Meiron to check on us before, Filia-san."

"Check on you? When did that happen?" Lina frowned.

"Before I left two days ago."

"Why didn't you tell us about this, Filia?" Zelgadiss looked at the dragon girl.

"I didn't want to trouble you. Only the two of us seemed to be the targets so..." Filia looked down.

"Ah, you are the only target now, Filia-san." Xelloss said cheerfully.

"Why is that?" Filia shot him an angry glare.

"Because you are a threat to Caiza-sama. Naturally he would want to have you taken care of first."

"Filia is a threat?" Lina fumed. "How dare that Caiza guy ignore such a beautiful and genius sorceress as ME!"

"How was Hellmaster-sama defeated?" Xelloss calmly asked.

"By ME, of course! I cast Giga Slave on him-" Lina's eyes widened as she realized something. "...which I sealed after defeating the Hellmaster."

"This means that Lina has no means of defeating a Mazoku Lord now." Zelgadiss nodded. "What about Gourry's Sword of Light?"

"Yeah! It can be combined with a powerful spell to create very powerful results." Gourry said.

"No good, unless that powerful spell is Giga Slave." Xelloss shook his head.

"But I don't know anything even close to Giga Slave, how am I a threat to Caiza?" Filia asked.

"Ah. Glad you asked, Filia-san." Xelloss grinned. "While I count as part of the equation, I am a lot more difficult to kill. You, on the other hand, are an easier target. You are an important component in defeating Caiza-sama simply because you are on the very top of the Ryuuzoku hierarchy, making you the brightest Light."

"The brightest Light...?" Filia frowned. "I don't understand."

"While the Mazoku represent Darkness, the Ryuuzoku represent Light. It is not possible to cloak Light completely with Darkness, and Light drives out Darkness. Darkness loaths Light, yet Darkness can't exist without Light. Such is the law of balance." Xelloss explained. "The Ancient Dragons used to be the brightest Light, but they became extinct even before the Kouma War started. That made the Gold Dragons the bearers of the brightest Light..."

Xelloss paused on purpose as everyone turned their eyes to look at the dragon maiden. "Caiza-sama got a Clair Bible and grew very strong, creating an abnormal imbalance. A balance is needed to cancel that out, and a balance of such magnitude can only be achieved through the union of the brightest Light and a strong Darkness, which would be me, in this case."

"UNION of Light and Darkness!" Filia glared dangerously at the Mazoku priest and screamed at the top of her lungs. "But YOU are Darkness! I am NOT doing anything with YOU!"

"Now, now, don't get so worked up, Filia-san." Xelloss kept his grin. "Though I wouldn't mind if you continued this. You are the most delicious girl I've ever tasted, I must say."

Everyone blushed at his choice of words, and Filia was absolutely enraged. "Will you stop using such words! You made it sound like we're-"

"We're what?" Xelloss licked his lips suggestively and smiled innocently at the same time.

Filia refused to say anything more and chose to look anywhere else but his grinning face.

"Ah, you look so cute when you're angry, Filia-san. I can't say I'm unwilling to do that with you, but I regret to say that you got it all wrong, my dear Filia-san." Xelloss smirked at the furious blush on the dragon girl's face.

"What do you mean?" Gourry asked. Being the densest one of the lot, he didn't really understand the word play, but he was the quickest to respond.

"We only need to combine our power to achieve balance, that's all." Xelloss smiled mischievously. "Or were you thinking of something else, Filia-san?"

Filia shot him a death glare. "Of course not! Who would think of doing something like that with you!"

"So that's why Caiza's been sending people to attack us." Zelgadiss said, intentionally breaking up the argument. "He wants Filia dead, so there won't be a bright enough Light to interfere with him."

"That's correct." Xelloss nodded. "If the Gold Dragons are gone, the Silver Dragons are the next in line, but they are not powerful enough. My aura will easily overtake theirs and a balance cannot be achieved."

"Since Xelloss is probably the only Mazoku who would actually be willing to help in bringing down the Skymaster, we need a Light that matches his power." Zelgadiss mused with one hand under his stony chin and cast a sidelong glance at Filia. "So it has to be a Gold Dragon, huh?"

"I am NOT combining my power with that filthy Mazoku!" Filia insisted.

"Well, shall we proceed now? The Clair Bible is still waiting for us." Xelloss promptly ignored her protest and turned to venture deeper into the forest.

"Hey! Did you hear me, Xelloss! I am not combining my power with yours!" Filia stomped her feet angrily.

"The shrine isn't too far from here. We should get there soon." Xelloss walked at the front of the group, leading the other three away. He glanced back and winked. "My, my, I can never get enough of you, Filia-chan."

"ARRRRRR!" Filia yelled in frustration.

+ - + - + - + - + - + 

The group arrived at the shrine, or rather, what was left of it. Remnants of what used to be a grand shrine lay scattered all over the clearing, obviously the result of a violent assult. A small stone monument stood amidst the rubble.

"This is...?" Lina was the first to inspect the stone monument.

"The seal of the Clair Bible." Xelloss walked up to her. "Apparently, magic doesn't work here."

"Then how are we going to break the seal?" Lina asked.

"Not to worry. We have the Sword of Light." Xelloss pointed his staff at the blond swordsman.

"My Sword of Light?" Gourry nodded in understanding. "It's the same as the laboratory of Rezo, isn't it?"

"That's right."

"But whoever did this..." Zelgadiss glanced around the wasted clearing. "Is probably still around."

"That's also correct. They are waiting for us to open the seal for them." Xelloss turned around. "Why don't you just come out from your hiding places?"

Sneers were heard as several figures materialized out of nowhere, surrounding the group in the process.

"Huh, I see you are still the Xelloss your mistress created." A woman standing beside Meiron snorted.

"Milaya." Xelloss recognized the Skymaster General. "Going all out, are we? I guess Caiza-sama is pretty impatient, sending out both his general and priest, ne?"

"You may be the single most powerful Mazoku, Beast Priest, but we two can combine our power to match yours." Meiron said.

Xelloss opened his eyes. What Meiron said was true. That meant he wouldn't be able to help the others, and Gourry would have to fight five Mazoku.

"Break the seal and take the Clair Bible." Xelloss ordered as he made his moves against Meiron and Milaya.

"Right!" Gourry inserted the Sword of Light into the opening on the stone monument, while the other three covered for him.

A bright light emitted from the stone monument, illuminating the entire clearing. A sphere remained in the place where the monument was after the light faded away. Inside the transparent sphere was the manuscript of the Clair Bible.

"Take it!" Meiron barked as he and his counterpart kept Xelloss occupied.

The other five Mazoku quickly closed in, preparing to snatch the Clair Bible. One of them shot a blast and sent the sphere up into the air, so that the flightless humans wouldn't be able to reach it before the airborne Mazoku.

"Darn it!" Lina growled. "Raywing!"

It would seem that she was still too late, however, as one of the Mazoku was already within reach of the sphere.

"Don't even think about it!" Filia shouted and transformed into her dragon form in an instant, towering over the clearing in great height. She knocked the Mazoku closest to the sphere away and got closer to the sphere than the other Mazoku.

"Take this!" Two Mazoku quickly threw a number of high energy blasts at the Gold Dragon, hitting right on her flank.

"Filia!" Lina exclaimed, throwing a couple fireballs of her own at the offending Mazoku.

The Gold Dragon took the blasts head-on, intent on reaching her goal regardless of the price. She buried the sphere within her mouth and soared into the sky to dodge further attacks.

"Take it in!" Xelloss suddenly called out in the middle of his battle, his voice reaching the ears of the Gold Dragon even at such height.

Everyone ceased what they were doing for a moment as a blinding light suddenly surrounded them from above. The light lasted for a few seconds and died down, allowing everyone to see again.

"Arrr! That stupid dragon actually ate it!" Meiron was furious. "Get her!"

"Lina-san, protect Filia-san!" Xelloss yelled.

"You don't need to tell me that!" Lina flew toward the Gold Dragon, but she was blocked by two Mazoku. Zelgadiss had also come up to join her at this point, while Gourry remained on the ground fighting a Mazoku.

A scream suddenly pierced through the tense air, having emitted from Milaya, who stood engulfed in an eerie green flame. It was obvious that Xelloss was responsible for that, but Meiron was nowhere in sight.

Another cry of pain, this one like the roar of a wounded beast, sounded from high in the air. When they jerked their heads up, they saw the Gold Dragon being stabbed on both her wings. Meiron was smiling darkly beside her, holding a bloody sword.

"Looks like I am the victor here, Xelloss. I'll take the Gold Dragon." Meiron laughed madly and disappeared while taking a tight hold of the dragon's neck. The other five Mazoku also vanished with their leader, leaving Lina, Gourry, Zelgadiss, and Xelloss behind.

"Meiron sacrificed Milaya just so he could take Filia-san." Xelloss allowed some degree of anger to show in his tone. "How dare he take her away from me!"

"Where are they taking Filia?" Lina asked, worry deep in her voice.

"Probably Caiza's palace in the astral plane." Zelgadiss guessed and not liking it one bit.

"We gotta get Filia back fast! Judging from the wounds, she wouldn't last too long without being treated." Gourry urged.

"Gourry's right!" Lina was alarmed by these words. "Not to mention that only Mazoku can perform any spells in the astral plane. Filia won't even be able to heal herself!"

"I'll get her back." Xelloss said with a dark expression and disappeared before anyone could say anything more.

_to be continued..._

* * *

Author's Note:  
First of all, I'm so sooooooory for having gone dormant and not posting (nor writing) anything for two years! I haven't left the Slayers fandom, though I admit I've been majorly distracted by other activities as well as other anime/manga series. I did try to post a while back, but the editor window thing refused (and refuses) to do as told! Frankly, I like the old style editor a lot better... Anyhow, now that I'm back, I am hoping to post all the chapters and stories that have been buried in my hard drive for two years before the summer is over. No promises, though. 

Did you get all the hierarchy setting and the Light and Darkness thing? I should have them explained in later chapters, but if you don't want to wait, drop me a line and I'll try my best to explain it to you :) I know Mazoku don't cast healing spells, and I did say that I am going to finish this story with my initial settings. Please remember that this story is AU and bear with me here.

What do you think of the story so far? Be sure to let me know! Special thanks to Miss Fi for beta reading the chapter for me:)


	4. Slayers SEED: Phase 03

**Slayers SEED: Phase 03**

by Handsome Puppy

Disclaimer: Slayers belongs to Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa Shoten/TV TOKYO/SOFTX/Marubeni. The title of Gundam SEED belongs to Sunrise/Bandai. This story and all the original characters are mine. This story is AU.

* * *

"...Milaya ...killed, Caiza-sama." 

"...nevermind her... have... Gold Dragon...enough..."

Voices rang in her ears as Filia slowly drifted back to consciousness. Opening her eyes, she saw two figures through a barrier of bars.

"What do we do with the Gold Dragon, Caiza-sama?"

"Just leave her be for now. I'll get the information about the content of the Clair Bible from her."

Filia winced a little as pain shot through her entire body. She couldn't move, but she didn't need to look to know that she was lying in a sticky pool of her own blood.

"Ho, you've awakened." Caiza glanced at the imprisoned dragon casually. "Don't try to move. That'll only quicken your death, since you won't be able to heal yourself in the astral plane."

"As... Astral plane?" Filia gasped through laboured breathing.

"You're in the palace of the great Skymaster Caiza-sama!" Meiron said proudly.

"So, you took in the Clair Bible. Tell me what's in it and I'll let you live." Caiza started. "Otherwise, you'll just slowly die in there. Nobody is coming to save you."

"Exactly" Meiron nodded, and then frowned. "Caiza-sama, Xelloss IS able to travel to the astral plane freely enough..."

"That brat of Zellas' can come all he wants. We'll just make sure he doesn't leave this place. We'll kill him directly in the astral plane." Caiza turned to look at the dragon "Even if the Gold Dragon refuses to answer, she can still be used as bait to lure Xelloss in."

"You lowly Mazoku!" Filia spat. "I am not telling you anything."

"Guess you're too stupid and stubborn to know what's good for you. How typical of Ryuuzoku." Caiza snorted. "No matter, you are serving your second purpose quite well enough."

Filia, alarmed by his words, suddenly glanced at an empty spot just as Xelloss materialized into view. "Xelloss!"

"Ho, I've been expecting you, Xelloss." Caiza smiled menacingly. "The Gold Dragon isn't able to see things clearly. Won't you talk to her about cooperating?"

"Indeed, that's why I came." Xelloss replied with his usual smile. "You see, this Clair Bible is of major importance to Beastmaster-sama, but Filia-san is the only one knowing its content. Certainly I'll have to get it out of her somehow."

"Xelloss... you!" Filia glared at the smiling priest.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Caiza seemed intrigued. Xelloss was too notorious for his double-crossing nature among the Mazoku, so it was almost logical that he would be turning his back on his former ally. Almost.

"First, I will heal her." Xelloss held up a finger. "When dealing with a stubborn dragon, one has to be patient. In her current state, however, she wouldn't last long enough to have the knowledge coaxed out of her."

"Interesting. Why don't you go ahead and do it?" Caiza laughed.

"Caiza-sama!" Meiron panicked slightly. "Will it be safe to allow Xelloss to heal the dragon?"

"He did have a point there. Besides, he can't teleport two people at the same time out of MY palace."

Xelloss bowed slightly for courtesy's sake before disappearing and re-appearing inside the bars where the Gold Dragon lay. He kneeled beside her and inspected the wounds on her wings and body. He could barely sense any emotion from the dragon, which meant that she really was dying.

"Poor Filia-san, let me see your wings." Xelloss reached out to touch her wings gently. Filia was too weak to put up any resistance.

Xelloss cast some healing spells on the wings, and then frowned at the fatal wounds on her sides. He unclasped his cloak and held it up like a screen between himself and the dragon. "Transform into a human, Filia-san. The wounds are too severe in your dragon form. It'll make it easier for me to heal them in your human form."

Filia stared at his profile in disbelief, refusing to act as told.

"What's the matter?" Xelloss asked when he got no response. He then turned to look at the other two Mazoku in the room. "Oh, you two will have to look away or she won't listen to me."

"Why do we have to look away?" Meiron glared at him suspiciously.

"She'll be naked when she transforms into a human, that's why. Wouldn't want you to stare at her in such state, would we?"

Caiza and Meiron snorted but turned away slightly nevertheless. Xelloss turned back to the red-faced Gold Dragon. "There, you can transform now, Filia-san."

"If you try to peek... I'll kill you!" Filia said with gritted teeth and changed into her human form when Xelloss also looked away.

"Done?" Xelloss managed to wrap the girl in his cloak without looking. He turned to her when she was properly covered. Xelloss put his hand on where the wounds were and started the healing process. "This will hurt a bit, but bear with me please."

Filia felt heat emitting from his hand through the cloak, and it was all she could do to remain very still. Her wounds were slowly healing, but she was feeling very uncomfortable inside. Though she was somewhat clothed, she still felt completely naked and vulnerable in her human form. She felt like she was being wrapped by Xelloss himself, and his hand moving gently on her abdomen over the layer of fabric didn't help matters.

'Filia-san... No, don't look up.'

Filia was startled when she heard Xelloss' voice inside her head, but she held her pose and continued to look down. Ryuuzoku had the ability to read other's mind so she quickly understood the situation. Even though she wasn't trained to read minds or communicate mentally, she was capable of perceiving other's thoughts if they were deliberately directed to her at a close range, like what Xelloss was doing now.

'Listen carefully, Filia-san. I won't be able to teleport the two of us out of here, so you'll have to get out on your own.' The voice continued while Xelloss' face betrayed absolutely nothing. 'You took in the Clair Bible, so you should know how critical the information within it is. Start casting the spell that will take you to the Sea of Chaos when you are healed. I'll create some kind of diversion for you. It's the only way you'll be able to get away from here. That spell isn't bonded by any dimension or plane. Once you get to the Sea of Chaos, ask the Lord of Nightmares to teleport you to Wolf Pack Island. I'll meet you there... If you understand everything I said, blink twice.'

Filia blinked twice.

'Good girl. Get ready... Now!' The voice left her mind when Xelloss pulled his hand away and stood up slowly.

"You've healed her. What's step two?" Caiza demanded.

"Step two? To put what she learned from the Clair Bible to good use, of course." Xelloss smiled, sensing Filia's aura rising behind him.

"What do you mean by that?" Meiron asked.

"I mean... This!" Xelloss shot two powerful blasts at Caiza and Meiron without warning.

Caiza was well-prepared and easily repelled the spell. Meiron, on the other hand, was caught off-guard and was engulfed by the flame.

"Hmph! I knew you'd be pulling some tricks. As a result, you shall face the consequences!" A huge Flare sphere crackling with energy formed in Caiza's hand. He suddenly noticed that Filia was surrounded by light and threw the ball of Flare furiously. "Like I'll let you get away!"

"Che! The spell takes longer than I thought!" Xelloss bit his lip and stepped in front of Filia, casting a Flare in an attempt to counter Caiza's attack.

Xelloss may have been a very powerful Mazoku, but he wasn't quite on par with the Mazoku Lord. His own attempt was absorbed by Caiza's, and the combined blast bore down on him in a fury.

"Xelloss!" Filia cried out as she witnessed the blast tear into Xelloss, but there was nothing she could do, for her spell was taking effect, spiriting her away.

Xelloss covered his bleeding wound with a hand and smiled despite the extreme pain. Seeing that Filia had disappeared, he, too, vanished without a trace.

+ - + - + - + - + - +

Filia waited for the light surrounding her to fade away, and then she glanced around carefully. She was in a place which appeared to expand endlessly in all directions. The horizon was very clearly defined, as it was total darkness above, and pure white below.

"This is the Sea of Chaos...?" Filia swallowed, overwhelmed by the infinite vastness of it.

"Yes, this is the Sea of Chaos." A voice suddenly said from behind her. She quickly span around to look at the speaker face to face.

"Lina-san?"

The Lina-look-alike chuckled. "No, I am not Lina Inverse. You probably know me better as the Lord of Nightmares."

"The Lord of Nightmares?" Filia gasped.

"Surely you expected to find me here in the Sea of Chaos?" Lord of Nightmares shrugged. "Of course, this isn't really me, just my conciousness taking the form of the last person who called upon my name and drew power from me."

"I... I see." Filia felt awkward being there, face to face with the most feared and respected figure of all races.

"Would you like something to wear?" The Lord of Nightmares held up a finger and Filia was instantly clothed in a white robe fashioned for Ryuuzoku high priestesses. "I hope I am not mistaken in your identity?"

"No... thank you." Filia blinked in shock as she looked down at the robe.

"So, why are you here, priestess-san?"

"I was held captive in the palace of a certain Mazoku Lord's palace in the astral plane. This was the only way I could get away from there..."

"Hmph! Caiza, wasn't it?" The Lord of Nightmares snorted coldly. "After what happened to Fibrizo, he still hasn't learned his lesson and chooses to disobey me."

"You know about all this?" Filia was amazed.

"I know everything, my child." The Golden Demon Lord of All smiled at her. "This concerns you as well, as you are the brightest Light."

"That again..." Filia looked defeated. "Is that really the only way to defeat Caiza, L-sama?"

"Yes, unfortunately Lina Inverse sealed the Giga Slave so I cannot lend my power to her, and none of the Mazoku Lords have the power to stop Caiza."

"It's just like Xelloss said..." Filia muttered under her breath worriedly.

The Lord of Nightmares studied the girl. "Speaking of which, what are you to Xelloss?"

"Wha-!" The question startled Filia completely, and she was even more shocked to find herself answering, "I... I don't know. I guess we are enemies, but not quite..."

The Lord of Nightmares smiled a little. "The cloak is his, isn't it? I can identify any part of him easily."

"What do you mean?" Filia glanced at the black cloak draped over the white priestess garb she was now wearing.

"Mazoku don't wear clothes in the same sense as the other races do. Any piece of garment you see is part of the body. In other words, that cloak is part of Xelloss." The Lord of Nightmares said. "By giving you the cloak, he is essentially giving part of himself to you. Not something a Mazoku would do lightly, if at all..."

"Na...!" Filia was shocked, to say the least. No wonder the layer of fabric felt so warm, for it was emitting body heat from Xelloss himself. She couldn't help but blush furiously. She WAS indeed wrapped by Xelloss, with NOTHING in between.

"Yet you said that you are enemies. It surely doesn't look that way to me." The Lord of Nightmares continued. "If anything, I'd say that Xelloss has a soft spot for you."

"Stop... Stop saying such things, please! L-sama!" Filia blurted out, her face a crimson red.

"Very well." The Lord of Nightmares dropped the subject. "I suppose that you wish to return to the material plane?"

"Yes. Please take me to Wolf Pack Island, if that's all right with you, L-sama." Filia recalled Xelloss' words, which brought up the image of Xelloss being hit head-on by the large blast. She winced inwardly and, though she wouldn't admit it, was really worried. It was possible to kill even a strong and powerful Mazoku like Xelloss in a direct battle in the astral plane, after all.

"Wolf Pack Island it is. It's been a long time since I last visited that place." The Lord of Nightmares nodded and extended her arms. "Take care of Xelloss, won't you? Filia-san?"

"...I will, L-sama."

Filia was once again surrounded by light and she felt herself floating. Floating and free-falling slowly, she finally touched solid ground under her feet. The light faded to reveal that she was returned to the world she was familiar with, though she couldn't recognize the immediate surroundings.

"Welcome back, Filia-san." The voice of the Mazoku priest sounded from above her. She looked up to see Xelloss perched on a large tree branch.

"Xelloss." Filia smiled a little, relieved at the sight of him. She hopped onto the branch beside the one he was sitting on with one swift jump.

"Well, well, I see L-sama has provided you with some clothing." Xelloss grinned.

"Thank you for the cloak." Filia handed him the folded cloak with a small blush. "You may have your body back."

Xelloss' smile froze in place as a large sweatdrop appeared. "...you know?"

"L-sama explained to me." Filia's face grew crimson and she refused to look Xelloss in the face. It was then that Filia noticed that he had one hand clutched to his abdomen where she had seen the blast tore into earlier. Her expression turned sad. "I am sorry, Xelloss. You got hurt because of me."

Xelloss blinked, totally not expecting Filia to apologize and be sad because of his injuries. He decided to counter with his usual tactic, complete with a wide and idiotic smile. "Ah, that's nothing. My body can re-generate itself quickly enough. It's not everyday I get to see my own blood, so I rather enjoyed the experience quite a bit."

"You bled?" Filia paled at his words. Xelloss had never shown any blood before, not even when a hole was blown into his chest, or when he lost an arm. "It's that serious?"

Xelloss felt like biting his tongue. He didn't want Filia to get worried. Denial was the way to go. "No, of course not, Filia-san. I am the Trickster Priest so nothing can be serious when it comes to me-"

His voice halted abruptly when Filia leaned forward and gently lifted his hand to inspect the wound. He could sense her sorrow and care. No disgust or twisted joy like he had expected. In fact, he hadn't felt any negative emotions from the girl since her return from the Sea of Chaos. Not even the slightest hint of anger, which had become his staple since knowing her. Something most definitely happened during her encounter with the Lord of Nightmares.

"You can't heal the wound yourself?" Filia asked softly, glancing up at him.

"Too bad, but no. Caiza-sama caught me in the astral plane." Xelloss shrugged. "This requires something deeper that will work trans-plane. I don't know anything like that, since we Mazoku don't heal ourselves usually. We rely on regeneration."

Filia placed a hand over the nasty wound and closed her eyes in concentration, comforting warmth accompanied by a faint glow passed from her palm into the wound. It made Xelloss feel a quiver inside. He quickly recognized the spell as one of the Holy spells specialized by Ryuuzoku high priestesses. Filia was focused on casting the spell, so Xelloss took the opportunity to study her features up close. This was the first time the two of them had been this close without fighting or yelling at each other. Xelloss had to struggle with himself not to grab Filia into an embrace.

Moments later, the warmth subsided and the light faded away. Filia breathed a sigh of relief and opened her eyes. She smiled cutely at him. "All done."

She was about to pull her hand back, but Xelloss moved first and took hold of it. The blond girl looked at him in surprise. "What are you doing, Xelloss?"

"Expressing my gratitude, Filia-chan." Xelloss smiled, actually looking sincere with open eyes, and kissed the palm of her hand. Filia's face flushed a deep crimson colour, but she didn't pull away or threaten to kill him. Xelloss grinned to himself at her reaction.

"Well! I never thought you had it in you, Xelloss." A clear voice said from under the tree, breaking the moment and Xelloss' hold on Filia's hand instantly.

_to be continued..._

* * *

Author's Note:  
Guess what? I'm still around! And guess what? A cliffhanger! Never thought I'd pull one of these myself. What do you think of the mushy scenes? I don't think it'll get much mushier than this. I like sap, but I don't write them very well. I'm said to be the most unromantic person in the house... 

Are you following the story so far? Confused yet with all the different settings from the canon? Please drop me a few lines and let me know what you think! Special thanks to Miss Fi for beta reading the chapter for me:)


	5. Slayers SEED: Phase 04

**Slayers SEED: Phase 04**

by Handsome Puppy

Disclaimer: Slayers belongs to Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa Shoten/TV TOKYO/SOFTX/Marubeni. The title of Gundam SEED belongs to Sunrise/Bandai. This story and all the original characters are mine. This story is AU.

* * *

"Luna-san?" Filia gasped when she saw the human girl with straight black hair in a waitress' uniform walked down the forest path. She jumped off the tree limb to meet the Knight. Xelloss followed suit, grumbling something under his breath. 

"How are you doing, Filia?" Luna Inverse greeted her with a nod.

"I am ok, Luna-san." Filia smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just visiting a friend." Luna shrugged. "Say, Xelloss, what's the latest situation with Caiza and his minions?"

"They're going all out now." Xelloss informed. "The attempt to capture the Clair Bible containing the spell to access the Sea of Chaos was a failure, but that won't stop them. I would say that eliminating the Light would be on the top of their priority list right now."

"Hn, I thought as much." Luna Inverse raised an eyebrow, though it couldn't be seen through the thick bang that covered her eyes. "Lina on the case by any chance?"

"Judging from her previous experiences and actions, yes, I'd say that she's definitely involving herself." Xelloss grinned.

"Well, tell her to ease off some. She is no match for the current Caiza." Luna fished out an envelope from a pocket of her waitress apron. "If she won't listen, give this to her."

"Another 'Do it. -Big Sister' letter?" Filia took it and guessed.

"Close. Except this one has a few more words in it." Luna laughed.

"Speaking of Lina-san, what happened to them?" Filia asked.

"I left right after you were taken so I don't really know." Xelloss scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"Oh, don't worry. They are staying in an inn. The one you passed by before entering the forest."

"How did you know this?" Filia was puzzled.

"I am Lina's big sister, am I not?" Luna chuckled.

"We'll have to hurry up and meet up with them." Filia said, ready to teleport out. "Thank you, Luna-san."

"Hold on, Filia-san." Xelloss took hold of her arm to stop her. "I need to report to my mistress first."

"No need. Luna just told me everything." Another figure materialized before their eyes. She appeared to be a beautiful young woman, with shiny long blond hair not unlike Filia's, except hers was wavy instead of straight.

"Beastmaster-sama." Xelloss let go of Filia's arm and bowed to her with respect.

"Beastmaster-sama!" Filia exclaimed.

"I am glad to see you faring fine, High Priestess Filia ul Copt of the Ryuuzoku." Zellas smiled slyly. "You probably know who I am already. I am Zellas Metallium, Beastmaster under Her Lordship."

Filia wasn't sure what to make of it or how to react. She could only nod politely and look between the three nervously.

"About the status of..." Xelloss started, but he was cut off by the Beastmaster.

"Like I said, Luna told me everything just now." Zellas said. "If I know Caiza at all, he's most certainly making the information regarding the 'bearer' of the Clair Bible very public by now. Be prepared, as you will probably have to face powerful oppositions other than Caiza and his campaign. Their main objective would be to capture the Gold Dragon alive so it's possible to retrieve the information. However, Caiza wouldn't make such careless mistake, which means that whoever gets involved will likely end up trying to kill the Light anyway."

Zellas looked seriously at her loyal servant. "Xelloss, you are to stay with the Gold Dragon and protect her until the whole ordeal is over."

"Understood, Beastmaster-sama." Xelloss bowed, glancing at Filia briefly.

Filia was shocked at the Beastmaster's order. The Mazoku Lord actually commanded her priest to protect a Ryuuzoku?

"That's all. You may return to your companions now." Zellas waved her hand to signal them away before disappearing with Luna Inverse.

+ - + - + - + - + - +

Silence hang for a few seconds, then Xelloss smiled. "Let's go, Filia-san. I bet Lina-san-tachi are busy stuffing food down their throats right now!"

Which, in fact and surprisingly, was not the case. When the two teleported to the inn, they did find the group sitting around a table in the dinning hall, but there was nothing except drinks on the table. Apparently, even Lina and Gourry lost their appetite while their friends were missing and were probably in grave danger.

The dramatic reaction, then, could be understood when Lina and Gourry dropped their jaws before rushing up to the two like hurricanes, all the while yelling like a pair of maniacs.

"Filia! We were so worried!" Lina screamed into the dragon priestess' uncovered ears, giving her a bear hug.

"Thank goodness you're all right!" Gourry had the two girls wrapped in one big group hug.

Zelgadiss remained seated, but a small smile crept up his face as well. A smile of relief and joy.

A series of intentional coughs caused the merry group to look at the Beast Priest. "Aren't you going to welcome me back?" The said Mazoku pointed at himself with an innocent grin.

Lina blinked a few times and loosened her grip on Filia. "Um... Hi, Xelloss."

The group once again re-seated. Lina and Gourry happily stopped a waitress and ordered to their hearts' content. Even Zelgadiss ordered a plate.

"Do you want something, Filia? My treat!" Lina said. Zelgadiss' eyebrow shot up in shock.

"That's ok. I'm not hungry." Filia declined politely.

"You should eat something, you know. Even a dragon needs her daily ration to stay in shape." Xelloss said, holding a finger up. He turned to the waitress. "Get her some roast beef, please."

"What did you do that for?" Filia said after the waitress left, not sounding too thrilled.

"Well, I figure that you can't feed me if you're too tired to be mad at me. It is then essential that I have you fed first." Xelloss grinned. "I believe the humans call this a symbiotic relationship. You feed me and I'll feed you."

"Wha.." Filia edged away from the smiling priest. "Parasitic relationship is more like it! I can take care of myself just fine, thank you!"

"So you say." Xelloss' smile remained on his face.

The stacks of empty plates and saucers were cleared away after a rather franzy feeding time. Lina-tachi settled down, ready to hear what Xelloss had to say. Before Xelloss had even spoken two words, though, Gourry got up from his seat. All eyes followed the blond swordsman as he walked around the table to stand beside another blond. This particular blond, however, was asleep and unaware of his presence.

Zelgadiss sighed. "Well, why don't we get a room for Filia to rest in?" He got up and walked to the counter.

"Just one room with two beds will be enough, Zelgadiss-san." Xelloss called out merrily.

Zelgadiss turned to look back. "Why?"

"Well, Filia-san and Lina-san will stay in the same room, right? I have to stay with Filia-san, and you probably wouldn't let me be alone with the two girls, would you?" Xelloss said as if explaining that the sky was blue and the grasses were green.

"Make sense..." Zelgadiss mumbled, then he suddenly jerked his head back. "What are you staying in the girls' room for!"

"Yeah, pervert!" Lina added from across the table.

"But he does have a point there, Lina." Gourry said with a cocked head.

Lina frowned and stared at the ever-smiling priest. "Fine! Do as he says, Zel." She said grumpily.

The chimera said nothing and continued to the counter. A few moments later, he returned with a key in his hand. "Let's go."

Zelgadiss led the way, Gourry followed him with Filia on his back, and Lina and Xelloss a few paces behind.

Gourry gently tucked the sleeping dragon in one of the beds and grabbed a chair to sit beside the bed.

"Watch over Filia while we talk, ok?" Lina said, sitting down with Zelgadiss and Xelloss around the small round table in the other corner of the room.

"Sure thing." Gourry smiled.

"Is it just me, or does he really love taking care of others?" Zelgadiss said, casually glancing at the blond briefly.

"Well, Gourry enjoys being a big brother, if anything." Lina shrugged, recalling her first encounter with the swordsman. "Besides, they do look like siblings with their long blond hair and blue eyes."

"It's not normal for Filia to be in such deep sleep, though. She seems awefully exhausted." Zelgadiss looked at the priest intently. "What happened after the battle at the forest shrine?"

"Yes, Xelloss." Lina stared at the smiling man. "What happened to Filia?"

"You really want to know?" The Beast Priest tilted his head as if in thought. "Well, let's see..."

"She was taken to Caiza-sama's palace in the astral plane. She was dying because she couldn't heal herself. She was interrogated by Caiza-sama regarding the content of the Clair Bible. She was dying because she couldn't heal herself. Then I showed up to pull her out from death's grip. She opened a path and went to the Sea of Chaos. She met the Lord of Nightmares. She got transported to where I was waiting. She learned of your whereabouts from Luna-san. She tried not to scream when my mistress appeared. She teleported to this inn with me." Xelloss blurted in one breath, smiling innocently all the while. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

"LORD OF NIGHTMARES!" "LU.. LUNA ONEE-CHAN?" Zelgadiss and Lina cried out at the same time.

"Yes, is something wrong?" Xelloss offered another seemingly harmless smile. "Oh, and you're screaming, Lina-san. You might wake Filia-san up."

Lina quickly covered her mouth with a hand, though she didn't bother to conceal her other signs of fear and extreme anxiety. Stealing a glance at the sleeping girl, Lina breathed a little and put down her hand, looking somewhat more composed, though her voice still wavered a bit. "So... so Filia met my sister?"

Zelgadiss had proceeded to process what Xelloss said while Lina went berserk. He crossed his arms and looked at the priest. "So what you are saying is that the Clair Bible contained a way to the Sea of Chaos, and now Filia is the only one who knows it."

"That's one way to look at it." Xelloss nodded.

"I guess that Caiza guy still want Filia dead, then?" Lina asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes. They would need to get rid of her before she could use that against them, and Caiza-sama is tricky. According to my mistress, he will involve other Mazoku and have them do the dirty work, using the Clair Bible Filia-san took as bait."

"What about YOUR mistress? Isn't she interested in what Filia knows regarding the Clair Bible?" Lina looked at the Mazoku. "Didn't she order you to find all the Clair Bibles?"

"Oh, you know? Though it is only partially true." Xelloss grinned. "At any rate, it is in Beastmaster-sama's interest that Filia-san live, at least until the situation with Caiza-sama is resolved."

"Hey..." Gourry called from his post beside the bed. "Sorry to interrupt your talk, but I think you should take a look at this."

"What is it, Gourry?" Lina sighed and walked over.

"This." Gourry pointed at the sleeping Filia, whose outer robe parted slightly when she stirred in her sleep and revealed the inner robe.

"This is...?" Lina blinked at the golden emblem on the inner robe. "A six-pointed star?"

"What!" Xelloss' eyes snapped open suddenly and he appeared beside Lina. Zelgadiss also came over to see.

"This doesn't look like any crest or symbol of Ryuuzoku origin." Zelgadiss observed.

"But it doesn't look like just any six-pointed star, either. It's faint, but there seems to be some kind of aura emitted from the symbol..." Lina noted.

"Speaking of which," Gourry spoke up. "These aren't the same clothes Filia wore this morning."

"Lord of Nightmares." Xelloss said with a serious expression. "The six-pointed star is an indicator and reminder of some sort of agreement or condition between L-sama and Filia-san."

"What?" Lina's eyes widened.

Xelloss shrugged. "I don't know anything about her meeting with L-sama. I'll have to ask her after she wakes up."

"I suppose so." Lina sighed, turning to the Mazoku priest again. "Now, tell us EVERYTHING you know about the situation with Caiza..."

+ - + - + - + - + - +

Darkness greeted Filia as she slowly opened her clear blue eyes. The small window let in some moonlight and allowed her to make out her surroundings somewhat. On the bed to her left slept the sorceress Lina, and on the floor between the two beds were Gourry and Zelgadiss. Filia looked around the room and found no trace of Xelloss.

"And I thought he is supposed to stay with me in case anything happens..." Filia murmured to herself as she sat up on the bed.

"Miss me, Filia-san?" A low chuckle sounded just a metre away. Filia stared as Xelloss appeared sitting on her bed. She almost shrieked but caught herself in time, not wishing to disturb the others' sleep.

"Were you here the whole time?" Filia asked with a whisper.

"Yes. My mistress ordered me to stay with you, remember?" Xelloss answered in a similarily low voice.

"Why does she want me alive? Didn't she send you to kill the Golds during the Kouma War?"

"You are Light, Filia-san, and therefore needed in order to defeat Caiza-sama." Xelloss replied casually. "Besides, we are not at war with each other right now."

"Meaning that if we are in a war, you'd kill me?" Filia said, looking away sadly.

Xelloss smiled a little and wriggled a finger. "That is a secret."

Filia looked down, knowing she'd receive such answer. Sighing slightly, she lay back on the bed.

"Ah, don't go back to sleep yet, Filia-san. I have a couple of questions for you that I want answers of." Xelloss stood up and walked up to her.

"What do you want?" Filia frowned. "Can't this wait until morning when Lina-san and the others are awake, too?"

"Actually, no." Xelloss grinned. "They've already know enough. They won't ask you any more questions."

Filia glared at the handsome smiling face and sighed in defeat. "Fine. What do you want to ask me?"

"First thing first." Xelloss held up a finger. "A bed is not a very good place to talk, is it?"

Filia blushed when she realized that their nearness did appear to be compromising. She pushed the blanket away and got off the bed to stand.

"Better. But I have an even better idea" Xelloss grinned mischieviously.

Before Filia reacted, a black aura wrapped around her and teleported the two elsewhere.

Filia looked around at the surrounding trees and recognized the place. "Wolf Pack Island?"

"Yup. I figure it'd be much safer if we talk here. Other Mazoku can't interfere."

Filia sat down on a rock, while Xelloss chose to hover in front of her cross-legged.

"Can we start talking already? I don't want to stay here for too long." Filia said irritatably.

"Of course." Xelloss smiled. "What did you and the Lord of Nightmares talk about? What did L-sama say about Caiza-sama?"

Filia tilted her head a little, recalling the unusual meeting. "She appeared rather annoyed about Caiza, saying something about him not learning his lesson after Fibrizo was destroyed."

Xelloss nodded. "That's predictable. What else?"

"...and she said that I have to join my power with that of Darkness to destroy Caiza." Her voice was almost inaudible.

Xelloss chuckled at this. "My, my. I thought I told you that already, Filia-san."

Filia looked away, face crimson still from what she was going to say. "She also told me that cloak you lent me was part of you."

"Indeed." Xelloss nodded. "Though it's a pity that I can't feel anything if the part isn't on me..."

Filia's face grew redder, if that was even possible. "PERVERT!"

Xelloss licked his lips as if savouring the flavours and grinned slyly. "Such sweet taste of anger, mixed with the spice of embarrassment."

"Arr! I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Filia stomped her feet. "I am going back to the inn."

She made as if to teleport, but a gloved hand stopped her by grabbing her shoulder from behind. She glared at the owner of the offending hand. "WHAT?"

The usual smile was absent from the face of the Beast Priest, and Filia couldn't help but swallow nervously. "Wh... What?"

Xelloss' other hand brushed her outer robe aside to reveal the emblem in question. "What's this?"

Filia blinked, a strange look on her face. "I don't know. Is there something special about this marking?"

Xelloss cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't L-sama cloth you?"

"Yes... so what about it?"

"Aren't you even suspicious about the symbol?"

"No... I just thought that it's L-sama's crest or something." Filia started to grow uneasy. "It's just an ordinary six-pointed star, right, Xelloss?"

Xelloss sighed and touched the marking gently. "I'm afraid not, my dear Filia-san. Yes, this star is her crest, but she never impose her marking on anyone unless there's some kind of contract." He looked up into Filia's startled eyes. "Though it appears that you are unaware of the contract yourself."

Filia stared at the symbol, trying hard to recall anything that could be called an agreement between her and the Lord of Nightmares. Suddenly, her eyes went wide as she finished mentally replaying the scenes. "It can't be..."

"What can't be?" Xelloss noticed her reaction. "Did you remember something?"

"But she said it so casually, I thought-" Filia brought a hand to her mouth to cover her shock.

"Well, what is it?" Xelloss frowned. The will of the Golden One meant as much to him as his mistress' will. He'd even consider lending a hand if Filia was unable to accomplish the task.

"It's after she pointed out about your cloak.." Filia started reluctantly.

"What about my cloak? She told you that it's part of me, then what?"

"She said that Mazoku don't normally give out any part of themselves to anyone." Filia's voice trailed off.

Xelloss blinked. L-sama told his dragon THIS much? How was he going to keep playing games with her if she figured out too much? He tried to look unconcerned. "So?"

Filia looked down with embarrassment. "She asked me to..."

"She asked you to...?"

"She asked me to take care of you." Filia let out finally.

It was all the Beast Priest could do to not stare at the dragon maiden in front of him with utter shock. When he finally found his voice, it was husky. "What was your reply?"

"I said 'I will'." Filia simply didn't have the courage to look up. Her face felt so hot, she thought she was having a fever.

Xelloss was quiet for what seemed like hours before he broke the silence. "Why?"

"I'm not so sure myself." Filia smiled a little. She looked thoughtful. "As a Ryuuzoku, I've been taught that Mazoku is my biggest enemy. I was convinced in the beginning, hearing all these stories about your race and, in particular, you. You follow the orders and commands of your superior with the utmost obedience. You kill without hesitation. You wiped out the Golds. You do things with calculation and manipulation..."

"You make me sound like a bad guy, Filia-san." Xelloss grinned, though his smile seemed a little quizzical, uncertain of where she was going with the conversation.

"...But you helped save the world with Lina-tachi once, and you saved me many times, too. Today, you even went so far as to heal me and cover for me at your own expense." Filia looked up into the priest's open eyes. "I know you did all these because you either had no choice or were ordered to... but I can't hate you anymore. Not after what you did for me."

Xelloss was silent for a moment before his smile returned to his face. "I didn't know you are so easy to influence, Filia-san. That's very un-Ryuuzoku-like, you know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Filia glared at him.

"Nothing." Xelloss grinned innocently. "Shall we go back to the inn?" Filia nodded, and the two teleported themselves back to the room.

"Go back to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us." Xelloss watched the dragon maiden climbing back into bed.

"Do you think we'll be attacked tomorrow?" Filia yawned a little.

"Oh, most definitely. The question is, who did Caiza-sama share the information with, and who would act first."

Filia sighed and closed her eyes. "Good night, Xelloss."

The expression on the Beast Preist's face turned soft as he watched the peacefully sleeping girl. "Good night, Filia-chan." He whispered and vanished from view once more.

_to be continued..._

* * *

Author's Note:  
Guess what? Two chapters in a row! Consider this as my Christmas present to you. :) These two chapters are the last of my stock chapters, meaning I have no more stock left from two years ago and will have to start writing again. Ok, I lied. I still have about a half chapter's worth of material written, but hopefully this will give me enough push to pick up from where I left it. BTW, I just realised that I can use Mozilla Composer to easily turn my text file into html for submitting. That sure beats inserting all these p and /p tags just so I can have the break lines and title formatting. Why didn't I think of that before? XD 

I hope I did Luna all right; I've never seen her and only heard of her. Let me know what you think of the story so far. Also feel free to rant 'cause I don't know when the next chapter will be out. Stay tuned, as there will be new enemies and allies. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year:)


	6. Slayers SEED: Phase 05

**Slayers SEED: Phase 05**

by Handsome Puppy

Disclaimer:Slayers belongs to Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa Shoten/TV TOKYO/SOFTX/Marubeni. The title of Gundam SEED belongs to Sunrise/Bandai. This story and all the original characters are mine. This story is AU.

* * *

Zelgadiss was the first one to stir. At least, that was what he thought when he woke up to a very early morning. One quick glance around the room told him that there were only three people present, as supposed to four. One of the beds was not occupied. 

"Filia!" Zelgadiss jumped out from his lying position, waking up the sorceress and the swordsman with the noise he made.

"Hmm? What's the matter, Zel?" Lina yawned sleepily and rubbed her eyes.

Before the chimera could answer, the door opened to reveal the Gold Dragon maiden, who appeared to be just returning from a morning bath.

"Good morning, everyone." Filia greeted them with a bright smile.

"Good morning." Gourry, still seated on the floor, replied happily. "How are you feeling, Filia? Better?"

"Yes, thank you."

"It's not safe to go out alone, Filia." Zelgadiss warned. "Especially when you are being targeted."

"Relax, Zel." Lina waved one hand unconcernedly. "She only went for a quick bath. Can't blame a girl for liking it clean."

"Speaking of which, where's the idiot that likes to smile so much?" Zelgadiss said.

"Xelloss is probably lurking in the shadows somewhere." Lina shrugged.

"He's right over there." Filia said, glaring and pointing at the neatly made bed beside Lina's. Everyone turned to look at the empty bed and saw the grinning priest materialising before their eyes.

"My, my. You're getting pretty good at detecting me, Filia-san." Xelloss smiled in his usual cheery way.

"Don't think I didn't know you followed me all the way to the bath house." Filia growled.

"He peeped on you!" Zelgadiss' hand went for his sword reflexly.

"I would never do that, Zelgadiss-san. I only waited outside the bath house" Xelloss said with a slight frown. "Filia-san does have a better figure than the washboard over there, but why waste my time and energy on peeping when I can wrap her up with my-"

The Trickster Priest found himself in a headlock, and a mace with very sharp spikes was right in front of his face.

"Who are you calling washboard, huh!" Lina tightened her grip and bared her fangs.

Filia's face was red, and anger didn't seem to be the only cause. "One more word and I will beat you to a Mazoku pulp, Xelloss!"

"What's going on? What did Xelloss do?" Gourry looked at the chimera with puzzlement.

"Don't ask. He deserves whatever punishment they give him." Zelgadiss replied, thankful that he didn't have to hear what Xelloss was going to say, whatever it was.

+ - + - + - + - + - +

"OK! Now that we're all here, let's discuss our next move." Lina announced. They just ordered something for breakfast and were waiting for the food in the dining area downstairs.

"Move on to find the other Clair Bibles like we originally planned, or take care of the Caiza problem first." Zelgadiss named the options.

"Why are we looking for the Bible things again?" Gourry asked.

Lina suppressed the urge to smack him, with no small effort. "The Ryuuzoku Supreme Primus, who is the keeper and the guardian of the real Clair Bibles on Dragon's Peak, received a vision indicating that the seals on the copies of the Clair Bibles scattering around the world have been weakening. Once the seals lose their power, those manuscripts which contain wealth of magic and spells will be free for the taking. If the ones with great power fall into the wrong hands, whether it be people with evil intentions or Mazoku, this world is doomed.

"Filia left her temple to answer the Supreme Primus' call to deal with the Clair Bibles manuscripts. We happened to stumble into her at one of the sites and agreed to help her. In exchange, Filia promised to let Zel have a copy of the part he wants, and we get to keep whatever treasures we find during the search. That's why we're looking for the Clair Bibles."

"Oh."

"How many copies of the Clair Bibles are still out there?" Zelgadiss asked.

Filia closed her eyes in concentration in order to communicate with the Ryuuzoku Supreme Primus on Dragon's Peak. Being the only one willing to undertake the mission, Filia was given the authority to report directly to the Supreme Primus without having to consult the elders of her temple, though she still kept in touch with the temple every now and then.

"There are two more Clair Bibles sealed somewhere, and one of these two holds power strong enough to influence the balance of the world." Filia said after a few minutes. "The other one would have the cure for Zelgadiss-san." The chimera's eyes lit up at her words.

"Well, the answer is clear, isn't it?" Xelloss said with a grin. "We go and search for the last Clair Bibles."

"Yes." Lina nodded solemnly. "I don't know what kind of power are within the last two copies, but as long as one of them is powerful enough to disrupt the balance, we must get it before the others."

"Who are the others?" Gourry asked.

"Mazoku, of course, and maybe some ambitious humans." Zelgadiss said, his hard gaze fell on the smiling priest. "And there's also Xelloss..."

"Speaking of which, I bet you're just tagging along and waiting for your chance to snatch what we find, huh? Xelloss?" Lina glared at the Mazoku Trickster.

The moment he showed up in front of the little party, they knew they couldn't afford to have any hard copies lying around. Lina sent Gourry and Zelgadiss to distract the priest while she helped Filia to a more secluded place. The two males resorted to an attack consisted of declaration and exclamation of the greatness and joy of life, and Filia used the time they bought her to take in the manuscripts. Being a high priestess of the Ryuuzoku, she could inherit the knowledge by swallowing the object that contain whatever texts in her dragon form.

"I haven't done that yet, have I?" Xelloss offered an innocent smile.

"And do you know how much trouble we had to go through just so you couldn't do that?" Lina growled. Zelgadiss looked like he was going to vomit by the end of the 'attack', she recalled.

"But he told Filia to take the one we found yesterday, Lina." Gourry chose that moment to comment and earned himself a glare from the sorceress.

"If we weren't attacked by those stupid Mazoku, there's no way that Xelloss was going to NOT try and take it." Lina shot another look at the grinning priest.

"At any rate, we have to prevent the others from getting the last two Clair Bibles." Zelgadiss concluded. He sighed inwardly when he saw the procession of waitresses with food coming their way. So much for the morning discussion.

"FOOD!" The sorceress and the swordsman happily dived into the mountain of food. The other three decided to move to another table in search for a little peace and quiet.

"What's the matter, Filia? You are awfully quiet this morning." The chimera asked.

"Eh? No, it's just..." Filia's voice trailed off. She looked out the window.

"Expecting companies, Filia-san?" The cheery voice of Xelloss said from behind her. Filia turned slightly to look at the smiling man but said nothing.

"So it is." Zelgadiss nodded. "I wouldn't worry too much about enemies other than Caiza. After all, even though Mazoku have a common goal of destroying the world, they never work together to achieve it. If anything, I'd say that they might even try to keep Caiza from killing you."

"Indeed. It is every Mazoku's dream to meet L-sama... unless one wants to rebel against Her, that is." Xelloss smiled meaningfully.

"So we can expect Mazoku to attack and try to capture Filia, but they won't harm her?" Zelgadiss mused.

"I wouldn't say they won't harm her." Xelloss smirked. "There are many ways to make one talk that's short of a direct death threat."

Filia bit her lips, trying to push the repulsive thoughts away for the moment. "I say we go and check out the maze Zelgadiss-san mentioned before."

"Sure, why not." The voice of a certain red head said, making the three jump.

"You've finished eating? Already?" The three blinked at the sorceress and the swordsman.

"Well, I WOULD like to have more, but they ran out." Lina complained, not happy at all. The three sweat dropped.

"Let's go, then." Zelgadiss got up and walked toward the door. Filia paid and exited with the rest of the party.

Lina glanced around as she led the group down the road. "Where did Xelloss go? Disappearing on us again?"

"Who cares. He goes off by himself all the time." The chimera shrugged. Filia knew that Xelloss was still with them, only invisible, but she didn't bother to point out his whereabouts.

+ - + - + - + - + - +

When they arrived at the crossroad that they passed by a few days ago, it was close to noon.

"So far so good." Gourry commented.

"It better stays this way until we find the manuscripts." Lina said, frowning slightly because she knew it was just wistful thinking.

"I'm afraid we have visitors." Filia stopped walking. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to the left.

"Just as expected from a Ryuuzoku high priestess." A soft chuckle reached their ears, and two figures appeared suddenly out of thin air.

"Mazoku?" Lina and the others immediately went into battle stances.

"Lina Inverse. We've heard much about you." The female with a long red braid chuckled.

"Oh yeah? Nice to know." Lina countered without much mirth. "And who might you be?"

"I am Sherra, and this is Grau." She pointed at the tall man with silvery grey spikes beside her. "We are the general and priest of Dynast Grausherra."

The group, minus Gourry, was slightly surprised upon hearing the name of the Mazoku Lord.

"Dynast? I thought he is in hiding." Lina said grimly.

"Well, Dynast-sama won't be after we get the power of the Clair Bibles for him." Grau smirked.

"So! If you don't want your friends to get hurt, surrender and come with us, Ryuuzoku's high priestess!" Sherra threatened forcibly.

"Like you can actually touch us!" Lina retorted, a flare spell brewing in her palm.

"Hmph, wanna play?" Sherra snorted and drew her demon blade.

The air was tense as the two groups faced each other, weapons and spells ready on both sides. Then a bell-like giggle sounded.

"That voice..." Sherra narrowed her eyes. "It's Dolphin-sama's brat!"

"Brat? Is that what you are, Sherra?" The voice laughed, but the owner of the voice remained unseen.

Sherra growled. "Come out, Parna!"

"Sure." The voice giggled again, but nothing happened.

Filia frowned. Something didn't seem right. She jerked her head up suddenly and saw a shower of rays of light appearing out of nowhere and went straight for her. It happened so fast, that even though she saw them coming, she couldn't dodge all of them in time.

"Filia!" Lina shouted.

Filia braced herself, preparing to take the shots, but they never hit. Xelloss appeared in front of her and deflected the shots with a force shield. "Xelloss!"

"Didn't think I'd abandon you, did you? Filia-san?" Xelloss grinned. He turned casually to look at the direction where the shots were fired. "Testing me, Parna-san?"

Another soft chuckle was heard, then a beautiful girl with a long blue pony tail appeared. "I knew you'd come out from hiding if I aim at her. After all, Beastmaster-sama ordered you to protect her, Xel-kun."

"Xel- Xel-kun!" Lina and the group were taken aback by the girl's obvious familiarity with the Beast Priest.

"I can't believe you're still infatuated with that disgusting Trickster. It's been over half a millennium, Parna!" Sherra snorted with annoyance.

"You're just jealous because Xel-kun doesn't like you." Parna made a face and grabbed his arm first thing when she teleported beside him.

Filia blinked and edged away from Xelloss. Lina and the others came up to her.

"What do we do now?" Lina asked in a whispering voice. "I say we try to sneak away and let those Mazoku fight. They seem to be enemies."

"You're not thinking of leaving me behind, are you? Lina-san?" Xelloss suddenly appeared beside the little group and smiled, with Parna still clinging to him.

"AH!" Lina screamed into the Trickster Priest's ears. "Don't do that!"

"Arrrr!" Sherra was furious at being ignored. "What are you doing here, Parna? If you're here to take the Gold Dragon, you can keep dreaming because WE are the ones taking her!"

The group turned their attention back to the general of Dynast. Parna smiled cutely. "I'm not here to take the Gold Dragon. I just want to see Xel-kun!"

"Where is Vondezan, Parna?" Grau asked, his red eyes cold and serious. "I doubt that the general and priestess of Dolphin-sama would pass on the chance to break the seal with L-sama's power. If you are not here to catch the Gold Dragon, then surely Vondezan is."

"Observant as always, Grau-san." A handsome young man with long blue hair appeared in the space between Dynast's force and Lina's group. "Although you are partially mistaken."

"Vondezan!" Sherra gritted her teeth at the sight of Deep Sea's general. Being creations of the gentle-natured Deep Sea Dolphin, both Vondezan and Parna were peace loving and never the ones to cause destruction. It was so un-Mazoku-like in nature and completely opposed to the ways of her master, she hated them with a passion.

"It's been a long time, Xelloss-san." Vondezan nodded to the priest whose arm was still in the possession of his little sister, Parna.

"Ah, Vondezan-san!" Xelloss greeted him cheerfully. "Someone who listens to reason."

"Great, another high rank Mazoku." Lina muttered as the group looked on solemnly.

"So how was I partially mistaken? What do you plan to do with our catch, Vondezan?" Grau asked as if the said target was already within grasp. Filia twitched slightly.

"Whatever I plan to do is no business of yours, Grau-san." Vondezan said. "However, I would suggest you leave quickly, since I would have to deal with you if you decide to interfere with me."

"Ha! You think you can defeat us?" Sherra laughed. "You might be stronger than either of us, but Parna is considerably weaker. It would be an easy thing to get rid of her first." Since the generals and priests of Mazoku Lords usually combine their power and fight together, Deep Sea's servants were at a disadvantage if they were to enter a fight face-to-face because of the uneven distribution in power.

"I still think we should sneak away." Lina said in a low voice while the other two parties continued to talk/threaten each other. "They're ignoring us right now, anyway."

"But Xelloss isn't going to leave us alone, and that Parna girl is not leaving him alone. Even if we try, they'll notice in an instant." Zelgadiss said, glancing at the Mazoku priest who had his back to them at the moment.

The group fell into a dead silence, until a certain blond broke it. "What do all these Mazoku want, Lina?"

"Filia, of course! Haven't you been paying attention for the last two days!" Lina fisted the swordsman's collar and hissed.

"Is that what Xelloss wants, too?" Gourry managed to ask with some difficulty. "He is one of us, isn't he?"

Lina froze. She dropped her iron grip on the swordsman's collar and turned to look at Zelgadiss with a surprised look. "Hey, this might actually work!"

"What might?" The chimera and the dragon maiden asked.

"They're under the command of three Mazoku Lords, and that makes them at least partially enemies, right?" Lina started.

"Yeah, so what?" Zelgadiss said.

"If they have a fight right now, who would win?"

"Probably Xelloss. He is stronger than he looks. Besides, he doesn't have to rely on a partner while the other two groups do." Filia said.

"What does Xelloss want? With Filia, I mean." Lina started.

"Nothing at the moment, since his mistress ordered him to protect her until Caiza is defeated..." Zelgadiss' eyes widened with sudden realisation. "Wait, don't tell you that you're thinking of-"

"Of what?" Filia and Gourry asked.

"Caiza is probably looking for the last two Clair Bibles as we speak. We don't have time to deal with them now." Lina jabbed her thumb at the five Mazoku facing off not too far away. "The best solution we have is to split up. Zelgadiss and Gourry will go with me to look for the Clair Bibles. Filia will stay here to hold them back from interfering with the search."

"WHAT?" Filia shrieked. Zelgadiss covered her mouth quickly, but the high pitch scream already attracted the Mazoku's attention.

"What's the matter now, Filia-san?" Xelloss inquired curiously. The other four Mazoku also turned their direction.

"Not- Nothing." Filia choked out a reply.

"Actually, I think we can solve the sick little love triangle here." Lina spoke up, ignoring the appalled look on the Ryuuzoku's pale face. "We will leave Filia here, and you five can decide how to settle the matter. It's Filia you want, right? We don't want to fight high ranking Mazoku like you, especially when there're so many of you. If you leave the three of us alone, we will simply walk away without causing any trouble for you."

"Ah, abandoning a companion at times of difficulty. How typically human." Sherra smirked.

"We humans have short lives compare to you, so survival is the most important thing for us." Lina shrugged. Inwardly, though, she was very mad at being mocked thus, since she was the last person to leave her friend in need. But if the lie could get them off their case, she was willing to take the taunt.

"Hmph. Makes sense." Sherra snorted. "As long as you don't interfere with us, we are generous enough to spare you."

"And you? Do you agree with the deal?" Lina asked the servants of the Deep Sea.

"You were never part of the picture. Of course it'd be best if we resolve the matter without any fights." Vondezan said.

"Then it's settled." Lina nodded. She paused as she walked past the trembling priestess. "Forgive us, Filia..." With that, she left with the swordsman and the chimera.

"Lina-san..." Filia's eyes welled up with tears. She knew very well that this was indeed their best chance, so even though she really didn't want to face five Mazoku by herself, she played along.

"Now, now, Filia-san. Don't cry over such little thing." Xelloss freed himself from Parna and came up to the dragon maiden to pat her on the shoulder.

'They are leaving you to me, aren't they? It's a pretty risky plan Lina-san has here, but it has merits.' Filia glanced at him when she heard the voice in her mind. Xelloss was doing it again, forcing his thoughts onto her.

Xelloss turned around to face his fellow Mazoku with a change of demeanour, shedding off the disarming little grin for the mysterious yet dangerous smirk he usually wore when he meant business. "So, what is it that you plan to do with Filia-san?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Xelloss!" Sherra glared at him angrily, noticing how the Trickster used the little crying scene to stand beside the dragon maiden and effectively denied them direct access. "As if you don't want to know the way to meet L-sama. I would be surprised if Beastmaster-sama didn't order you to get the information from the Ryuuzoku high priestess!"

"Well, be surprised. She didn't. Not yet, anyway." Xelloss grinned at the stunned faces of Sherra and Grau. "And what is your intention for being here, Vondezan-san?"

"To obtain the power of L-sama in order to free Dolphin-sama from the seal. You know that already."

"Yes, I do. What I really want to know is the method of which you are planning to achieve it." Xelloss continued to smile. "Sherra-san and Grau-san are sure to use force to take her, but I don't think you would change your peaceful way now."

"I was planning to talk her into giving us the information willingly." Vondezan said. "If she could allow you to be near her, surely she is more tolerate and reasonable than the other Ryuuzoku."

"Talk her into it?" Sherra snorted in disdain. "You're even more spineless than I thought! Such an excuse of a Mazoku!"

"At least he's won his way to stay." Xelloss smirked.

"What do you mean by 'stay'?" Filia gulped nervously beside him.

"I'm allowing the siblings serving Dolphin-sama to stay with us." Xelloss grinned and turned to the servants of Dynast. "As for you two, my friends, you are going to leave before I take action."

Sherra and Grau stiffened. If they start a fight now, it would be the two of them against the other three Mazoku. A battle which could not be won. "Very well. We will retreat for now. Expect us to return!" Sherra spat and disappeared with Grau.

_to be continued_

* * *

Author's Note:  
Two more new characters! XD Even though this chapter is written quite recently, Parna and Vondezan were created near the beginning of the story along with Meiron. Because it took me this long to get them out in here, I ended up using them in my other stories (not posted). I hope I'm not ruining your appetite with the pair of peaceful Mazoku. This is AU, after all, and one that was created when I knew nothing about Slayers... 

Now that the group has splitted, what's going to happen to them? What will Lina's group encounter? How will Filia deal with being surrounded by Mazoku? When will the next chapter be out?(!) I can tell you the answers to all these questions except the last one. Depending on how my final project (a.k.a mini thesis) goes, it might take three months or longer for phase 06 to come out. And depending on what I watch/read during this time period, the next thing I post might not (probably won't) even be Slayers. Only time will tell... XD

My inbox is open 24/7, so feel free to tell me what you think of the story, or if you just want to rant. :)


End file.
